Welcome to the Jungle!

I enjoy working in my yard and there is so much to do! My interests in horticulture derive from growing up in a family of gardeners. There was a vegetable garden each year and a yard filled with all kinds of flowers such as rhodys, hydrangea, tulips, daffodils, petunias, roses, and fuchsias at my parents house. My Grandpa Larson grafted his own apple trees and had a greenhouse on his property where we grew many hothouse tomatoes when I was a kid. At an early age I became all too familiar with a broom and a rake as well as trips to Watson's greenhouse.
When Darrick and I moved into 1214, the yard was an overgrown mess. I'm not exaggerating. The neighbors tell us that the original owners had a son who was an amazing gardener and our yard used to look like a park. But with no upkeep in over a year, a jungle emerged.

This was one of the first pictures I took of the back yard, showing the overgrown laurel. It was over 25 ft tall and had grown past our neighbors two story garage! The branches were so thick that my bow saw and pruners weren't cutting it and I had to invest in a chainsaw.

The front yard was pretty overgrown as well. Darrick cut down 4 trees and multiple bushes. The sun was able to shine into our yard and through our kitchen window!

This was the 25 x 10 ft pile that grew from the laurel and the front yard waste. This got chipped up and spread in the front yard. I plan to lay sod in the front yard this up coming spring until we make plans for a garage in the next few years.

Here are a few pictures of what the front and back yard look like now.










The Fall and Winter are a great time to tidy up the yard and prepare for the Spring. I can't wait to see what pops up then!